Inuyasha: Matchmaker Extrordinare
by Striking Falcon
Summary: For years Inuyasha’s been blissfully unaware of Kagome’s feelings toward him as they searched for the Shikon jewel shards. It’s only after three years and one nasty fight that he realizes Kagome’s true feelings for him and comes to the understanding that
1. Prologue: Sight

Disclaimer: This is the first, and last, time I say this during this story. I don't own Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru or any of the characters in this story.

Inuyasha: Matchmaker Extrodinare!

Prologue: Sight

I. A Child Understands

The mood on this night was a somber one, and the three occupants of the tiny one room hut huddled around the fire pit to watch as the flames dance despite the group's melancholy dispositions.

"So," began the taijia as she stood up to stir the kettle pot suspended above the flames. "What did Inuyasha do this time?"

"I believe it was the same as always," sighed the monk on the opposite side of the pit. "Inuyasha said something rude, Kagome took offense and the resulting fight ended when Kagome went home."

"But shouldn't she be back by now?" inquired the small fox cub beside him. "It's not like her to stay away for so long. Besides, she promised she'd come back...didn't she?"

"Don't worry Shippou," the monk replied with a comforting pat to the fox's auburn. "I'm sure Kagome-sama's doing something other than being angry with Inuyasha."

"Doesn't she have...what did she call it?" The taijia fell silent, one slender finger gently tapping her jawline as she attempted to remember what it was she wanted to say. She vaguely remembered her father performing the same actions when he wanted to think and she quickly discarded her nostalgic musings once her subject matter returned to her. "I think she called it a 'grad-u-ashun."

"A what?" Shippou called out before giving the air a quick sniff. "Sango, you're stew is missing something. You should try throwing some of those green leaves in there."

"What green leaves?" Sango asked before searching inside a nearby herb basket with no small amount of confusion. "What do they look like?"

"They're the dried ones Kagome brought back," Shippou said before jumping up to retrieve the herb. "See, it's this one. Put that in."

"Oh. OK then." Shippou supplied the leaves while Sango dropped what she thought to be the proper amount into the enormous cast iron kettle suspended above the fire pit. "Now as to this graduashun-"

"Graduation, dear Sango," Miroku politely corrected from behind his tea cup. "I believe that's what she called it."

"Oh. Ok then. Well anyway, she said it was important to her. Do you guys think she wanted Inuyasha to go?"

"I think she might have," Shippou said before sitting beside Miroku. Kirara mewed and settled down beside him, her tails curling around her and her paws tucked beneath her as she prepared for sleep. "But I doubt it after the fight they had. Kagome was really upset when she left."

"I just don't understand," Sango huffed angrily. "Why does Inuyasha talk to her like that? Can't he tell that it hurts her feelings."

"Perhaps, or perhaps not," Miroku replied with a 'comforting' pat to Sango's backside. A wooden smack sounded throughout the hut and Miroku was out cold before he knew what hit him...literally.

"That pervert," Sango grumbled as she returned the wooden stirring spoon back to the kettle. "Can't keep his hands to himself to save his life."

"I remember my father saying something about hanyou," Shippou offered once Miroku was conscious. "He used to say that hanyou were a disgrace to both sides 'cause they can't control themselves." He fell silent for a few moments, a far away look casting it's shadow over bottle green eyes before he spoke again. "My mother used to say that hanyou couldn't help how they are because that's how they survive."

"Explain," Miroku insisted. "This theory of yours might help us to help our friends."

Shippou agreed readily enough, though he wasn't exactly sure how to word what he wanted to say. After all, he was only eight human years old, much older than he was three years ago when he first met Inuyasha and Kagome, but still young enough to confuse himself and those around him if he wasn't careful.

"Um...well, Mama used to say that hanyou were treated pretty bad. Humans treated them like monsters and full blooded youkai treated them like a disease so they pretty much had to teach themselves how to behave. Mama said that's why they're so rude and stuff, because they probably had no one to teach them how to be otherwise. They had to learn to 'adapt' to their 'environment' to survive."

"But Inuyasha's mother stayed with him," Sango disagreed. "It was his father that wasn't around, right guys?"

"Inuyasha's mother fell ill not too long after Inuyasha's father died," Miroku recalled in answer. "So perhaps Inuyasha was left with the task of raising himself."

"Mama also said that hanyou were rude to everyone else because they weren't used to being any other way with anyone else," Shippou continued. "Remember when he used to beat on me all the time? Well I kinda think that he was trying to toughen me up. Plus it's really hard for them to trust people cause it's always someone trying to beat up on them."

"And do you think that's why he's so mean to Kagome?" Sango asked and frowned when Shippou shook his head. "Ok then, what do you think it is?"

"See, Inuyasha meant to be mean to me," Shippou explained. "But with Kagome, I don't think he knows that he hurts her feelings when he yells at her. I think he might think that that's the way you talk to girls."

"So he hasn't realized that he hurts Kagome's feelings?" Miroku assumed. "Even after three years? Are you sure about this Shippou?"

"Yup," Shippou nodded. "I don't think he knows about her being in love with him either. Even I don't think Inuyasha's mean enough to keep throwing Kikyou in her face after finding out that Kagome likes him."

"I don't know," Sango sighed despondently. "Maybe we should tell hi-"

"Shhhhhh," Shippou whispered as his sniffed the damp night air. "Inuyasha's coming." He shoved aside the heavy curtain, poked his head outside and grimaced at the damp air, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as the scent of a coming storm threatened to drown out Inuyasha's. He watched as a bit of white and red moved along the horizon closer to the village and the hut.

"Hey you two," Shippou whispered when he came back inside. "Don't say anything to Inuyasha about her feelings. If I know her, she'll want to tell him herself."

"We won't say a word," Sango promised immediately. They both turned to Miroku, who sat deep in thought and unaware of Shippou's request. He agreed readily enough when Sango's sharp elbow connected with his ribs seconds before Inuyasha walked into the hut.

II. Blinded by Innocence

"Kikyou..."

'Why won't you listen to me...'

"I...I love you Kikyou..."

'Why...why do you still blame me? I would have given anything for you...'

"Kikyou please..."

'I would give anything for you...but why won't you listen...'

She stood in the center of the clearing, her cold brown eyes staring into the heavens as the wispy, pearl blue bodies of her devoted soul collectors coiled about her. Slanted red eyes watched him warily, some ready to defend their mistress should the moment arise while others delivered their precious cargo of souls. She refused to acknowledge Inuyasha's presence but remained fixated on the west, her eyes calculating as Inuyasha moved further away from the trees and into the clearing.

Only when Kagome left would he find Kikyou like this and it was only when his time jockey companion was safely tucked away did he search for his former lover. She never failed to show yet she never spoke a word, choosing instead to stare away from him while Inuyasha professed a love that had already suffered once due to Naraku's hands.

"Kikyou, why are you here?" Inuyasha finally asked. "If you won't talk to me, then why do you keep coming back?"

"I come because you call me," she finally whispered, her voice hollow and melancholy as she finally turned to look at him. Straight black hair barely shifted against her back as she turned, her robes scarcely moved by the wind as one of the soul searchers deposited it's cargo into her body. She frowned when Inuyasha turned away, a look of hurt flashing in her eyes before being drowned in the sea of hatred and fury churning within. "Do I disgust you now?" she hissed in quiet accusation.

"No," Inuyasha responded as he returned his amber eyes to her form. "I just...I don't like seeing you like this."

"Like what?"

Inuyasha's eyes shifted again, this time to another collector as it returned with some other poor, unfortunate soul. "So filled with hate. It's not the Kikyou I know." He blinked in confusion when she chuckled, the sound hollow at first before filling with mirthless laughter.

"I cannot help what you made me," she sighed once her laughter ended. "In truth, I'm **not** the Kikyou I used to be."

"But you could be," Inuyasha proposed as he closed the distance between them. He stood behind her and draped his arms about her, forever her protective red winged angel, his white hair shifting over his shoulder to pool about hers as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He searched for the sunshine that used to radiate from Kikyou's scent but found nothing more than graveyard dirt and ash. "We could make you into what you used to be. The jewel-"

"Don't you know by now," she began as he gently grasped her upper arms and turned her to face him. "The Shikon will never grant that wish."

"Why not?" Inuyasha demanded. "It does everything else. Why can't it give you back your life?"

"Bringing me back would be a selfish wish and it may cost you your little friend."

"You mean Kagome?"

"Yes," she nodded dismally. "I mean your shard detector. You may lose her or lose us both. I am already lost so I have nothing to be afraid of."

"You're not lost Kikyou," Inuyasha disagreed and shook her slightly to emphasis his point. "And I'll think of something-"

"It's a selfish wish Inuyasha," she told him as she pushed his hands away and stepped away from his warmth. "The Shikon would do nothing but turn it against you. You will hurt in the end. Just forget me Inuyasha." She pushed away from him entirely and began to walk away, leaving Inuyasha to stand alone while her soul collectors trailed along behind her like glowing blue specters. He watched as she finally disappeared at the edge of the forest, his shoulders slumped and his ears drooped in defeat, before he finally turned to head back to the village.

'I don't want to forget her,' Inuyasha thought as the first peal of thunder sounded from miles away. 'Kikyou is the first person, other than my mother, who accepted me.'

'_Not exactly,'_ a small voice whispered inside his mind. _'Kikyou's not the only one who accepts you. What about Miroku...Shippou...Sango...and Kagome?'_

'They accept me because I protect them,' Inuyasha concluded. 'But Kikyou-'

'_Kikyou is dead,' _the voice reminded him. _'The only reason she's walking around now is because of the little bit of Kagome's soul that's still inside her. She's right. You should forget her.'_

'But I can't.' He sniffed the air, something about the damp night breeze that seemed familiar and alarming against his inner senses. He sniffed about again but found nothing, not even a faint trace of Kikyou's soul collectors to tantalize his senses. He shrugged and continued on until Kaede's village and hut came into view. He hurried along when the first raindrop splashed against his forehead, the sudden cold shocking and abrasive to the warm air around him. He reached out for the yellow door curtain and grasped it's edge when the whispers of it's occupants reached his ears.

"Hey you two," Shippou whispered while Inuyasha listened in. "Don't say anything to Inuyasha about her feelings. If I know her, she'll want to tell him herself."

"We won't say a word," Sango promised, as did Miroku after a slight thump and wheeze on his part. Inuyasha inwardly wondered what was going on until a splattering of raindrops fell around him. He quickly ducked into the room just as Sango, Miroku and Shippou were returning to their places around the fire.

"Yo," he grunted as he shoved his hands into his sleeves and sank down on the opposite side of the trio. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'," Shippou answered back with a slight shrug. "We're waiting for Sango to finish cooking."

"Well we don't have to wait long now," she sighed as she stood up and picked up a set of earthenware bowls from a nearby shelf. "Because I think it's done." She quickly filled and passed the bowls to the others before serving herself. Inuyasha sat by and ate while she returned to her seat beside Shippou, unaware until she sat down that everyone's eyes seemed to be fixated on him for some reason.

"Wha?" Inuyasha grumbled around a mouthful of meat and a noodle hanging precariously from one side of his mouth.

"Gah, you're so gross," Shippou groaned and Miroku stifled a laugh while covertly snaking a hand toward Sango's backside. Sango sighed and shook her head before boxing the poor houshi's ear. He howled in pain and shot up, his bowl spilling across the floor as he pleaded with Sango to release him. Shippou's groan turned into a laugh that instantly caused him to choke on a large carrot slice that got stuck in his throat.

Inuyasha watched all this and rolled his eyes, then dove back into his meal as the storm finally rolled overhead.

III. Clouded by Doubt

Kagome huffed as she shoved her pack over the lip of the well, a light beading of sweat along her hairline as she climbed the vines out of the vast darkness below her. She flopped down with a huff and leaned against the well with one arm draped down the gigantic yellow monstrosity that was her backpack. Today there was something special inside, something that she wasn't sure the others would appreciate but was sure that they would like to see all the same.

Her cap and gown.

How hard she had worked over the past three years, studying when she could and constantly hounding down classmates and friends for notes she missed while she was 'sick', and now she was finished. Now she could hold up her diploma and, though she didn't have the best grades, she could honestly say that she **finished** while traveling between eras, battling demons, searching for shards and constant arguments with her foul tempered hanyou companion.

"A hanyou that didn't bother showing up for my graduation ceremony," Kagome mumbled to herself as she slowly returned from the high she felt earlier. She sighed hopelessly and reached down to lift her pack...only to tumble over the other side of it because of it's weight.

"Oh come on," Kagome grunted as she tried again to pick up the heavy bag. "Don't do this now...come on..." She grunted, growled and jerked until the strap, after three faithful years of service, finally decided to give up the ghost and snap. Kagome flopped backward as the strap's buckle barely missed smashing her full in the face. She watched as the piece of metal flew over her shoulder and disappeared deep into the forest surrounding her.

"Great," Kagome grumbled as she furiously smacked the ground beside her. "Just great. Can this get any worse?" She blinked in surprise when a small wet droplet exploded on the tip of her nose, then groaned outright as the floodgates opened and it's brethren decided to follow the droplet to Earth in one fell swoop. Kagome was soaked within minutes, her denim shorts and thin white t-shirt clinging to her skin and her waterlogged hair stuck to her neck, back, forehead and cheeks.

She blinked up at the gray clouds cloaked across the sky and felt something inside her sink. The happy go lucky girl was gone almost instantly, replaced by a woman who already knew enough of the world to suffer from its disappointments. One tear after another fell down her cheeks as she recalled the past three years, of her struggle to keep up with the other students and of her struggles with a certain hanyou that practically bore the sun over her world.

Three years of arguing and three years of comparisons had taken a toll on the young miko. She was beginning to feel as if no matter what she did, no matter how much she accomplished or how much Kaede taught her, she would never be able to live up to the standards Inuyasha helped blossom in her mind. Time spent at home was spent less on schoolwork and more on self defense classes, and time with her friends was replaced with Kaede's miko training and learning better ways to track the Shikon shards. Three years of constant improvement and Kagome still felt useless.

"Maybe I am useless," Kagome said to herself as she stood up and attempted to knock the mud from her clothes. "I can't even pick up that stupid bag."

'No wonder Inuyasha doesn't love me.'

Kagome froze when a twig snapped in the forest nearby, her instincts on alert as her ki scanned the area around her. She felt no presence but chose to fish her crossbow and quiver out of her bag anyway. She loaded and raised the weapon before peering through the sight into the black forest, her ki flooding the clearing in tangible waves as she searched for whatever made the noise. She gave up after a few minutes of searching, figuring whatever it was to be either gone or uninterested in her, then reached down for her pack and attempted to drag it away from the well.

Kagome growled aloud when she once again found herself landing on her already abused backside, her mouth turned downward into what she felt would be a perpetual frown as brown water flew up around her. She sneezed once, twice, three times before finally deciding to call it quits and abandon the pack. 'There's nothing valuable in it anyway,' she said to herself as she somehow managed to shove the heavy pack back into the well. "There," she said as she attempted to wipe the rainwater out of her eyes. "That should do until morning."

Kagome hefted the crossbow over her shoulder and began a casual stroll down the hillside to the village, her footsteps light despite her earlier breakdown and occurring downpour. 'The Feudal Era's so beautiful,' she sighed to herself as she traveled the pathway between the rice fields. 'Even in the rain.'

She smiled as she walked past the many huts, the slight mummer of conversations filtering out above the rain as she walked by as silently as a ghost. She stopped at Kaede's front step and quickly shoved the curtain out of the way before stepping inside.

"Kagome!"

"Hey little dude," Kagome laughed as Shippou launched himself into her arms. He yelped in surprise when a clawed hand reached out and jerked him away from his intended flight pattern and thumped him back to the ground.

"Hey!" Shippou crowed as Inuyasha continued to eat. "What was that for!"

"She's wet dumbass," Inuyasha grumbled from behind his bowl. "Now shut up. I'm trying to eat."

"What happened to you Kagome?" Sango asked as she quickly grasped a nearby blanket and draped it around Kagome's shoulders. "You're soaked."

"Um, I had a little trouble with my pack," she answered meekly, a slight blush staining her cheeks as she glanced fondly toward Inuyasha. "Would you mind picking it up tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll do it," Inuyasha replied between slurps of broth. "No problem."

"Thank you."

"Come on," Sango said as she pushed Kagome toward the back of the hut toward a dark corner of the room. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes and into something dry." Miroku opened his mouth to suggest something but quickly sealed it shut at the warning look on Sango's face.

"What?" he called out as Sango hurried Kagome along. "I was only going to ask if you need assistance."

"And we don't," Sango said with a quick kick to his shin. "So don't bother asking." She smirked happily while Miroku hopped about on one foot, his other grasped tightly in his cursed hand as he spied after her with a twinkling in his violet blue eyes. Shippou watched the contented smile spread on the houshi's lips and shook his head in disapproval.

"Adults," he mumbled as he helped himself to another helping of Sango's stew. "Man, I hope I never grow up. You guys are weird."

"Hey, hurry up and get her changed Sango," Inuyasha called out as he set his bowl out on the front step. "The last thing we need is her getting sick and slowing us down."

Sango moved to say something when Kagome spoke up, her shoulders drooped in defeat and misery as she whispered, "Don't worry Inuyasha. I won't get sick."

"Yeah well, hurry up all the same," he grunted in reply before taking his place by the door. He sat down on the floor, crossed his legs and propped his sword against his chest before falling asleep, the sleeves of his haori falling over the sheath into his lap and his head lulled to the side. Shippou glanced from him to Kagome, who breathed a silent sigh before allowing Sango to help her change. She deflated almost instantly, whatever good cheer she felt when she walked through the doorway now gone due to Inuyasha's thoughtlessness.

'I know you don't mean it,' Shippou thought as he gazed into the hanyou's sleeping face from beside his knee. 'I know you can't help how you are. I just wish Kagome knew it too.'

VI. Perplexed by the Vision

The hanyou's scent drifted to him on the high breeze, the scent of rain and fresh grass instantly shoved aside as he stepped from the cliff and allowed himself to drop through the layers of scent and down the cliff's rocky side. His nimbus formed underneath his feet the moment he found a suitable scent trail and he shot through the sky toward his intended prey. He inwardly frowned as another scent intertwined itself within the hanyou's, this one not the normal scents of his human companions.

This scent was much worse and he confirmed his suspicions as he hovered far above the hanyou and his dead lover.

"Kikyou," the hanyou whispered to the golem. "I...I love you Kikyou."

'Such foolishness,' he condemned as the wind fluttered through the empty sleeve at his left side. 'To consider such emotion is shameful enough, but to waste such effort on something that smells so horrid is repulsive and a disgrace to our great Father.' He watched as the hanyou averted his eyes from his beloved, apparently finding the sight of her feasting off innocent and helpless souls too much for him. Their conversation meant little to him, but the opportunity it presented could ill afford to be ignored by the taiyoukai.

His nose wrinkled slightly when the hanyou hugged the claymation, a quick exhale leaving him as the hanyou's nose disappeared behind the zombie's black hair. 'The stench has to be be revolting,' he commented to himself as the golem stepped away from her former lover. 'Inuyasha must be insane.'

"Why not?" Inuyasha angrily demanded, successfully interrupting the prince's concentration. "It gives everything else. Why can't it give you back your life?"

"Bringing me back would be a selfish wish, and it may cost you your little friend."

"My little friend-you mean Kagome?"

'Of course not half wit,' he secretly commented to himself. 'She speaks of another who carries half her soul. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if he truly is Father's son.'

"Yes," the claymation nodded. "I mean your shard detector. You may lose her or lose us both. I am already lost so I have nothing to be afraid of."

"You're not lost Kikyou," Inuyasha disagreed and to the prince's surprise shook her. "And I'll think of something-"

"It's a selfish wish Inuyasha," she replied and the taiyoukai watched as she pushed the hanyou's hands away and stepped back from him. "The Shikon would do nothing but turn it against you. You will hurt in the end. Just forget me Inuyasha." She walked away without another word, leaving Inuyasha to stand alone in the clearing like a kicked and abandoned puppy.

'Truly something is missing,' he determined as Inuyasha finally walked toward a nearby human village. 'Where are the humans that normally follow him? Where is the one that most resembles the dead miko?' He began to follow after his departed half sibling when another scent touched his senses, the perfume almost intoxicating as it literally captured his attentions and turned his nose towards it's origins. He abandoned the hanyou, thoughts if his younger brother's demise dying a quick death itself as he followed the unique bouquet of warm jasmine and vanilla toward another clearing and what the humans of the nearby village called the Bone Eater's Well.

'Humans and their inane superstitions,' he commented absently as he searched for the creature who held such an intriguing calling card as the one that beaconed him. He stopped short of the clearing when a brilliant blue light flashed from deep within the well, his curiosity once again piqued as tiny grunts and scrapping came from the dark depths of the well. He stepped further into the shadows and watched as a pack fell from the well's innards, the mammoth and offensively colored blob landing by the well side with a thump and slight shake of the well's side.

Next came little clawless fingers that struggled to grasp the lip of the well, and to his surprise the dead miko's reincarnate hoisted herself out of the well's depths. She flopped onto the grass rather gracelessly, no doubt staining her indecent apparel with dust and grass stains as she casually brushed aside her bangs and pretended to collapse against the pack's well endowed side.

'Such an odd creature,' he thought as she smiled to herself. She seemed enormously pleased with something and though he never would assume to know the human mind, especially one of a female such as this one, seeing such a wistful and pleased image of a creature he had yet to understand stirred his curiosity.

Triumph and accomplishment swirled happily in her aura, with beautiful traces of pride and freedom fluttering throughout like silvery butterflies. He watched her aura sparkle with something akin to awe. His previous experiences with the human left him unprepared for this insight into her life and it made him feel as if he were peering in on a queer little lightening bug from outside a glass jar.

Her demeanor changed suddenly, all traces of her earlier bliss gone as dark clouds of doubt, hurt and another feeling that he couldn't understand marred her face and her aura. She sighed hopelessly, her dark eyes distant and sad as reached down to lift her pack. He couldn't help the tiny smirk that twitched against his lips when she toppled backward, her little squeak of surprise the only sound as she fell down with a sharp thud.

"Oh come on," he heard her say as she tried again to pick up the heavy bag. "Don't do this now...come on..."

She continued to struggle, his respect for her rising a sliver at her refusal to quit and actually smiled when her efforts gained her a broken strap and yet another hard trip to the ground. His head jerked to the side in the nick of time, barely avoiding the heavy buckle as it flew over her shoulder, past him and deeper into the forest.

"Great," she grumbled as a small growl sounded from the forest behind him. "Just great. Can this get any worse?"

He turned just as a weasel oni crept toward him. He quickly jumped into the nearest tree and waited, watching as his prey stalked the young miko unawares. His nose turned at the sudden arousal coming from the weasel, figuring it to have something to do with the miko behind him as he soundlessly fell behind the overambitious oni.

"I will have her shards," the weasel whispered to itself as it licked its dry and chapped lips. 'Then I will have my fill of the miko's many...assets. Yes, the gods have smiled on this weasel this day."

The very thought of something as foul as this oni defiling a creature he **grudgingly** respected disgusted the taiyoukai and he wordlessly snapped the weasel's neck in two before another thought could cross it's tainted mind. The taiyoukai turned back just as the first of many droplets fell from the sky. He erected a slight weather shield around him and watched as the miko stared ahead of her in surprise when one of the drops landed on her nose. She groaned when it finally became the storm it was meant to be and before either of them knew it she was soaked. Her strange clothing clung to her form, the thin white top revealing a skimpier cloth that held her breasts. The now sheer top revealed much to the taiyoukai's eye, including the tiny lavender rosebuds embroidered on the white lace of her breast binder and the gentle swell of breasts that moved with each breath.

She blinked upward wordlessly, the gray of the sky reflecting in her aura as tears began to well in her eyes. One tear after another streamed down her cheeks without fail and for once he could see more of this creature, his brother's woman, than the brief angry glances and the warrior fire that always burned in his presence. Silvery brown eyes regarded the sky and the world around her with a grief that literally moved him out of his aloft indifference toward the pain that seemed to echo something within his own soul.

"Maybe I am useless," he heard her whisper to herself as she stood up to brush the mud from her person. "I can't even pick up that stupid bag." She sniffed and it was then that the weasel's body spasmed one final time. It's foot brushed against a few dry twigs, successfully snapping one in two before finally lying as still as death intended.

Sharp eyes turned in his direction and her ki flooded the clearing toward him. He rose out of her range before she could sense him and continued his watch from above while she reached inside her pack for the strangest bow he'd ever seen.

'How inventive,' he said to himself as she loaded the odd weapon and searched the clearing. 'Never have I seen one such as this miko. But what is it about her pain, her tears, that affects me as such? Perhaps it is her power, the strength that flows in her veins, that makes her sorrow so enticing. Such power cannot be left to it's own.' He watched as she ceased her search and came to some sort of decision, then quirked a brow when she somehow hefted the pack into the well and continued onward toward the nearby village.

He followed her silently, his form now a tiny light of a firefly while she continued onward as if on a Sunday afternoon stroll. The sadness was still with her, but she was somehow managing to push it aside for other things. Her surroundings seemed to be helping her and he realized just how much of a child of nature this miko was while she passed the rice fields. She was almost smiling now and mud splattered as she was he could not help but think of her as...enchanting in some way.

'The hanyou seems to have something else of extreme interest,' he thought as he settled above the doorway she disappeared into. He caught the scents of her companions, including Inuyasha, from inside as she greeted them with her customary grin.

"Kagome!"

"Hey little dude," he heard her laugh and he wondered to himself what this 'dude' was. The kitsune's yelp was the next to be heard, then a thump before Inuyasha's constant slurping continued.

"Hey! What was that for!"

"She's wet dumbass. Now shut up. I'm trying to eat."

'Such concern you show for your miko half breed,' he quipped as the slayer's voice asked about the miko's state of affairs. 'But you would allow one of your pack to fall ill under your watch.' He lit upon the window sill just as the miko informed Inuyasha of her pack's whereabouts.

"Yeah, I'll do it," he heard Inuyasha reply to her request for help. "No problem."

"Thank you." He caught the meaningful glance directed at the hanyou, who remained clueless with his face immersed inside the earthenware bowl. 'Foolish,' he thought with disapproval. 'To waste such emotions on fickle creatures such as these.' He came out of his musings just as the slayer landed a kick to the houshi's shin, for what he couldn't tell but from his point of view it looked as if the houshi enjoyed the abuse.

"Adults," the kit mumbled to himself. "Man, I hope I never grow up. You guys are weird."

"Hey, hurry up and get her changed Sango," he heard Inuyasha call out as he moved to a drier part of the windowsill. "The last thing we need is her getting sick and slowing us down."

"Don't worry Inuyasha. I won't get sick."

"Yeah well, hurry up all the same."

And though he could not understand it, he found himself sympathizing with the miko as her aura darkened, the sadness that was almost a memory now returned with all it's intensity. Bright gray eyes dimmed to a dull shine and tears threatened to caress her cheeks again.

'Imagine,' he thought as he finally left the group and streaked toward the woods. 'Where other nobles pay to see dramas ... though...' He sighed to himself and hovered above the clearing of the Bone Eater's well, the tiny light flickering around him slightly before descending toward the clearing and the well.

(End Chapter)

Yeah, it's a new one. My beta thought it was a good idea though, so I thought I'd go ahead. I'm going to take down A Role Reversal because I don't really want to finish it. I haven't a clue as to where my cousin wanted it to go, so I'm going to save it on disc until he let's me know. Oh, um...it's only the prelude, and I know it's kinda confusing.

Wait, who am I kidding? No it's not.

You guys know who the characters are, and who's talking, so it shouldn't be confusing. This is one of those fics that's standing in the way of another fic, so be prepared to see this one updated often. It's like it's standing in the middle of the A Cross of Blades highway and I have to move it to get further down the road toward my destination. Oh well. Another chapter should be out soon. Just look for the A Cross of Blade's update.


	2. I Will Know You

Disclaimer: You've heard it, so I'm not saying it again. It is on the first chapter for those that managed to miss it.

Chapter One: I Will Know You

I.

Kagome woke up slowly, her eyes squinting as sunlight from a nearby crack in the wall streamed into her face. She frowned and sat up, her hand dragging across her forehead tiredly while she stole a glance at her companions. Each were sleeping peacefully, the content in their faces made her happy but envious. She stood up and left the room slowly, intending to steal back to the well to retrieve a few necessities before the others could wake up. She tiptoed out of the room with a stealth that would have made a ninja jealous, then slipped past the outer curtain to the fresh morning air beyond.

"Good morning Kagome."

"Eek!" Kagome squeaked in alarm. She patted her chest as Sango laughed at her, her hand covering her mouth to hide her snicker while Kagome collected herself. "You scared me Sango! What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I thought I'd watch the sunrise," Sango sighed before turning her head toward the east. "It's beautiful you know."

"Yeah, I know." Kagome sat down beside her, her head propped up by her hands as they watched the sky change hues. Violets, golds and oranges fired throughout the clouds as they looked on in amazement. Kagome loved the sunrises of the Feudal Era more than anything, it only paling in comparison to the sunsets. Shippou tip toed out of the hut and crawled into Kagome's lap. He didn't fully understand the pair's infatuation for something that happened everyday but he remained quiet until it finished. The peace that radiated from them made him feel protected and safe, a feeling he hadn't had since his great and terrible father passed away.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going," Kagome said as she sighed and stretched her arms.

"Where are you going?" Sango asked while she plucked Shippou from Kagome's lap so she could stand.

"I've got to get my stuff out of the well so I can take a bath," Kagome replied. She made a show of smelling herself, her eyes twinkling when Shippou laughed. "See, I need it. So I'm just gonna-**AH!**"

"Kagome!" Shippou and Sango jumped to their feet and rushed to her side, with Shippou dusting Kagome off while Sango helped her to stand. "Are you ok Kagome?" Shippou inquired worriedly. "You fell over pretty hard."

"Yeah, I know," Kagome giggled at herself. She stood up, brushed herself off and flashed him a winning smile. "What else is new huh?" She glanced toward where she fell and found her yellow backpack lying in the middle of her path.

"What's that doing there?" Sango asked , she and Shippou standing by while Kagome pawed through her things.

Kagome shrugged happily. "I don't know. I guess Inuyasha just-"

"What did I do now..."

They looked up just as Inuyasha stumbled out of the hut, his amber eyes still bleary from sleep. "I can't even sleep without getting blamed for somethin'. What's goin' on now anyway?"

"Why'd you leave Kagome's bag in the middle of the way Inuyasha?" Sango demanded irritably. "She tripped and fell over it. She could have hurt herself."

"Wha? I haven't touched the thing," Inuyasha countered defensively. "Man, I always get blamed for-"

"Well if you didn't do it," Shippou interrupted. "Then who did?"

"Like I know and like I care," Inuyasha grumbled and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "It was probably one of those village boys. They've been starin' at Kagome like a piece of meat lately."

Kagome blushed and returned to her pack, her searching more fevered as Miroku emerged from the hut. "Good morning my companions," he greeted goodnaturedly. "How are things?"

He frowned at the grumbling that came from his normally jovial companions and shook his head. "You all should be ashamed," he scolded mildly. "Instead of thanking the Great Kami-Sama for this wonderful and bright spring morning you sit and gripe at one another. By the by, how are you this morning Sango-san?"

"I'm fine Miroku," Sango nodded in his direction. Miroku nodded back and shuffled toward her.

"And how did you sleep? Well I hope."

"Yes, I slept fine."

Kagome grabbed her bag and began to drag it away from the pair, glancing away only once to smile at Shippou when he offered to help.

"Ah, then that is a blessing. Nothing pleases me more than to hear it." Miroku draped a friendly arm over Sango's shoulders and smiled. "Truly someone that works as hard as you do deserves a good night's rest."

"Why thank you Miroku," Sango replied with a faint blush. "I'm flattere-" She stopped, her face turning beet red as Miroku's hand 'accidentally' caressed her left breast. She glared up at him, danger and lightening flashing in her eyes before-

**SLAP**!

SPLAT!

"You PERVERT!" Sango fumed as she stood over Miroku's still body. "I can't believe you! It's to friggin' **EARLY**!" She grumbled something else and stomped away, her fist clenched at her side as she disappeared beyond the trees. Kagome and Shippou sniggered at the poor monk before Kagome grabbed a change of clothes and walked back inside the hut.

"What's the plan Inuyasha?" Kagome called out to him. "What're we doing today?"

"What do you think we're doin'?" Inuyasha's voice demanded as Shippou slipped inside behind Kagome. "We're goin' jewel shard huntin'. Miroku heard some rumor about a shard somewhere east of here. Jeez, you'd think you'd know the drill by now." Kagome snickered as Inuyasha's grumbling moved farther away then grinned at Shippou.

"Guess what we're going to do today Pinky?" she asked with a sly wink. Shippou caught on quickly and grinned as he played along with their private joke.

"I donno Brain, what are we doin'."

Kagome quickly jerked a black t-shirt over her head, zipped up the fly of her shorts and grinned. "We're going to take over the world!"

Shippou laughed until his sides hurt, his little paws desperately grasping the ache at the funny picture she made. She stood there, her feet shoulder length apart with a serious look in her eyes and a determined finger pointed in the air.

"Hey, quit goofin' off in there!" Inuyasha snapped irritably. "If you've got time to laugh then you've got time to come the hell on here!"

"Alright, we're coming," Kagome giggled as she kicked over her bag. She waited until it's contents skittered out onto the floor before going through them, her hands quick as her eyes fell on what she needed for the journey. She grabbed a small velvet purse filled with the coins Miroku asked her to hold on to, several packs of ninja food (including lots of Ramen and pocky), a couple of changes of clothes, some soap and other necessities. She reached for a nearby basket and dropped the rest of her things inside before grabbing hold of a silver rectangle the size of a book.

"Here Shippou," she said as she handed it to him. "Hold on to this for me please."

"Alright," Shippou readily agreed as they quit the hut. Sango and Miroku had returned, Miroku from his bout with consciousness and Sango from her calming walk, and stood waiting by Kagome's bike with pleasant smiles. Kagome smiled back, picked Shippou up and gently placed him inside the bike's basket.

"OK Inuyasha," she called out. "We can go now."

"Bout time," he grumbled as he began to lead them out of the village. Kagome waved as they left, calling out assurances to whomever asked that they would come back as soon as they could. Inuyasha 'feh'ed at her but continued on, his amber gaze excited as he sniffed his way east.

II.

"Kagome?"

"Yes Shippou," Kagome asked as she continued to propel her bike forward. Shippou scratched his head thoughtfully, a slight frown marring his childish features as she waited patiently for him to speak.

"Um...what do you think is gonna happen once we complete the jewel?"

"Well, I don't know," Kagome shrugged. "I mean, we kinda have to find all of the shards first."

"Yeah but afterward, what do you think will happen?" Shippou continued to press. "I mean, will the jewel disappear after you wish on it, or will it just lose it's power? Will it send you home, leave you stuck here or make it so you can always use the well? And what if-"

"Hey Shippou," interrupted Kagome calmly. "I'll be honest with you; I don't have a clue what's going to happen. As far as the jewel goes, I'm starting to get the feeling that there's no way for anyone's wish to come true without some sort of taint. I...don't know about the rest of it, and I'm not going to say that it doesn't bother me but you know what? I try not to think about it. I don't know what's going to happen, not tomorrow, not today, shoot, not in the next five minutes so I try to enjoy every second. You should do that too."

"I know but..." Shippou's head drooped, the metal rectangle falling to sit in the basket beside him as he stared down at his paws. "I...don't want you to go, Kagome."

Kagome sighed softly, her slight breath dancing along his cheek as she stopped, flipped down her kickstand and grasped the kitsune in a loving hug. "I don't want to leave you either," she whispered in his elfin-like ear. "I tell you what, how about I promise you something?"

"What?" Shippou asked, his bottle green eyes wet with tears as he looked up at his beloved human guardian.

"How about I promise that, if by some chance the jewel comes together and we get separated, that no matter what century we find each other, even if its in another life, that I'll know you when I see you. It won't matter what you look like, what kind of disguise you have or how much you've grown, I'll still know you."

"OK!" Shippou chirped happily, his tears quickly replaced with a joyful smile. "That's fine with me Kagome!"

"Hey!"

Kagome and Shippou looked up and groaned as Inuyasha glared at them from the front of the group. "Can you two have your Hallmack moment later?" he growled. "Some of us have shit to do."

"Alright fine," Kagome sighed as she returned Shippou to his seat. "And it's Hallmark, not Hallmack you jerk."

"Whatever," was his growled response before he continued on. Sango and Miroku shrugged and walked forward, the pair sharing a smile between them at Kagome's promise. They had known for quite awhile of Shippou's concern over what would happen to their time traveling friend and they hoped that now his fears would be resolved.

"Oh yeah," Kagome said and reached for the rectangle sitting beside Shippou. "I've got something for you."

"What is it?" Shippou asked as she flipped it open and set it in his lap.

"It's called a DVD player," Kagome said before explaining the many buttons and functions. Shippou nodded readily, remembering an earlier time when Kagome explained what DVDs were. "I thought you would like to watch a few when we travel."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup," Kagome smiled as she patted the front of her pack. "I've got lots and lots of extra batteries on me, so it'll be fine."

"OK!" Shippou followed her directions and watched as the screen went from black to blue to red. An animated picture of a blonde haired human dressed in a red trenchcoat appeared onscreen. "Who's that?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," Kagome sighed as she leaned over the handlebars to peer at the screen. "That's Trigun, one of my fave animes. It's about the things that happen to this warrior because of his evil brother."

"Sounds bloody familiar," came from ahead of them. Shippou and Kagome rolled their eyes and continued on as if they hadn't heard Inuyasha's interruption.

"Anyway, his friends try to help them, but they always end up getting hurt too. Mom bought me the entire series for my graduation present. I've got others too if you'd rather look at those."

"No way." Shippou shook his head eagerly. "I wanna see it."

"OK then," Kagome laughed as Shippou quickly absorbed the action in front of him. "Don't forget that I've got crayons and stuff in my bag too."

"I won't Kagome," he assured her and squeaked at the gunshots coming from the DVD player's small speakers. Kagome sighed, shook her head and petaled along, her head leaned back in carefree bliss as a stray wind gently kissed her face.

III.

"Shippou!" Kagome called out as she cocked her crossbow. "Reload!"

"Gotcha Kagome!" he said as he jumped down from her shoulder to take his place in front of her. "Fox Fire!" Bluish-green flames arched along the ground in front of them and Kagome rushed to reload the holding chambers of her bow while Shippou singed the fur off of anything that came close.

Kagome groaned to herself, wondering how they, once again, managed to get into this situation. They were four days inside the eastern territory and Kagome had yet to feel the pull of a jewel shard. She was frustrated, Sango and Miroku were frustrated and Inuyasha was infuriated at the 'lack of focus' on her part. Kagome quickly defended herself and the resulting argument managed to attract a small low level bear youkai in the area. Inuyasha despatched it quickly and it was then they learned that the bear youkai was a bear youkai **cub,** one of many that were trouncing around scourging for food in the forest. The screams of the dying cub brought the bear's mother, father and what had to be fifteen other family members. They saw the remains of their young and immediately flew into a rage, their eyes blazing red before they attacked the group.

"Get back!" Kagome called out once she loaded the last arrow. Shippou jumped back, the last of his flames dying out as he landed on Kagome's shoulder. The bear youkai on the other side of the flaming wall growled once it disappeared, their eyes narrowed as Kagome stared down the shaft of her arrow. She fired without a word, the nearest youkai jumping aside of the projectile and advanced forward. The bear behind it wasn't so lucky and it screamed before bursting into glowing purple ash.

Kagome jumped back when it swiped out at her, it's claws barely missing her face as she scrambled to get out of the way. Shippou pivoted on her shoulder when she turned and ran, green eyes narrowed angrily as he pulled out a toy slingshot Kagome gave him for his birthday. He grabbed a toy top from his vest, loaded into the slingshot and fired it directly at the youkai's head. The top grew to a monstrous size and began its wild spin on the bear's forehead. It yelped in fright as the point of the top began to drill it toward the ground.

"Quit playin' around over there!" Inuyasha barked as he slashed through one of the monarchs of the bear youkai clan. "Shippou, shut that shit down!"

"Inuyasha you dummy!" Shippou shouted as the top began to waver. It disappeared with a -pop!- leaving behind one pissed off youkai. "Oh crap Kagome, look out!"

"I'm all over it," Kagome said and fell backward. The bear pounced instantly, it's menacing crimson eyes triumphant as it snarled at it's prey. Kagome aimed up and fired again. This time the arrow flew true and landed in the beard abdomen. Ash rained down on them, caking Kagome and Shippou in bear residue as they got back to their feet.

"Can we not cut it so close next time Kagome?" Shippou asked as Kagome fired another shot at a nearby youkai. Kagome nodded and opened her mouth to speak when she gasped, a sharp pulling at her consciousness jerking her around.

"Kagome, what is it?" Shippou asked worriedly as Kagome continued to stare into the forest. The battle around them faded, her senses on high alert as the tugging on them intensified. "Kagome, snap out of i-Kagome, look out!" She glanced over her shoulder and gaped at the enormous tag team that rushed toward them. She struggled to lift her arms and couldn't, some unknown force keeping them clamped at her sides as the pair ran toward them.

One of the bear's jumped into the air and the other continued it's charge from the ground, knowing that there was no way Kagome could disable both creatures before they reached her. By one or the other she would die by their hands and she opened her mouth to make Shippou run when a bright flash of yellow crackled down before them. Kagome cried out in alarm and closed her eyes, her arms finally moving so she could cradle Shippou away from the blinding light.

The snarls and growls in front of her ceased, leaving a little bit of peace and quiet as a breeze brushed past her. Kagome cracked an eye open when Shippou squeaked in alarm, and midnight gray connected with cool burnished gold. Kagome's eyes snapped open in alarm, her arms tightening frightfully around Shippou both to comfort him and to comfort herself as the western lord looked down the end of his nose at the pair. The battle ceased the moment he made his appearance with any remaining bears bolting for the surrounding woods as if their very lives depended on it.

Inuyasha breathed a hurried sigh and wiped at a scratch above his right eye, then turned and glared at Miroku, who stood nearest him. "Miroku, what the hell happened?" he pouted in disappointment. "I was just gettin' riled up."

"Perhaps it had something to do with him," Miroku replied calmly as he pointed toward Kagome and Shippou. Inuyasha glanced over, glared angrily and snarled at the last person he wanted to see. "Sesshoumaru," he growled, Tetsuagia poised and ready as he ran toward his brother's back. Sesshoumaru glared over his shoulder at him, his hatred for his hanyou sibling glittering in his eyes as he unsheathed Toukijin.

"Wait, please!" Kagome called out too late as the aura from the weapon shoved Inuyasha clear across the field. Sesshoumaru turned back to Kagome, uninterested as Inuyasha smashed through a nearby tree and skidded to a stop underneath another one eight feet behind the first. Kagome flinched when Sesshoumaru's gaze returned to her, the cool passiveness in his orbs freezing whatever comment she had ready.

"What do you want Sesshoumaru?" Sango called from the other side of the clearing. He ignored her and Kirara, who remained in her larger form as she watched him warily.

"Miko."

Kagome blinked, wondering for a moment if he were talking to her before she responded. "My name is Kagome."

"I did not ask for your name," he replied to her attempts to correct him. Kagome nodded and glanced towards Inuyasha's immobile form. "The hanyou will be out for a few minutes," Sesshoumaru told her as he glanced her over. He stopped at the kitsune in her arms, the speaking glare from one so small almost startling if he were capable of feeling such. "Those few minutes are more than enough for you to give me the information I came to retrieve."

"What would you like to know?" Kagome asked nervously. "I'll try to help however I can, seeing as how you saved Shippou's life."

'Hn,' Sesshoumaru thought, noting to himself how she never mentioned her own life as Shippou huffed and crossed his arms. "What do you know of Naraku's whereabouts?"

"Oh man, I'm really sorry," Kagome sincerely apologized. "We don't have a clue as to where he is. We're searching for any rumors about him, or the shards, right now."

"And what have you heard?"

"Is it just me," Sango began as she leaned to whisper in Miroku's ear. "Or do you feel a little...left out?"

"I would much rather be," Miroku replied solemnly. "I can only imagine the havoc that will occur should Inuyasha-whoops, spoke too soon." He watched as Inuyasha regained his footing with one clawed hand braced against the trunk of the tree. He rubbed his aching head, growled and leapt toward Sesshoumaru again. Sesshoumaru dodged Inuyasha's blow, grasped Kagome's arm and dragged her out of the way as well. She gaped as he turned her a-loose, the shock plain on her face as she and Shippou fell into a soft patch of grass nearby.

"Foolish halfbreed," Sesshoumaru sneered in disgust. "This Sesshoumaru wonders what you would have done if you had managed to strike her with your feeble attack."

"Well you wouldn't have to worry about it if you'd hold still," Inuyasha snapped as his claws raked out. Sesshoumaru dodged them again, his movements lightening quick as he stepped to Inuyasha's right side and slammed his fist into Inuyasha's rib cage.

"Stop!" Kagome cried out in alarm when Sesshoumaru grasped Inuyasha's arm. He paused, his eyes cool and unreadable before flicking Inuyasha's arm away from him and stepping away. He gave no one but Kagome a second glance as he walked out of the clearing and even then it was a glare that promised...something...before he disappeared among the trees.

"That-that **_bastard_**!" Inuyasha snapped as he ripped through the trunk of another tree. "How dare he just show up and-"

"Hey!" Shippou shouted suddenly. "I don't think he came to fight you Inuyasha! He did save us you know!"

"Why would you say that?" Miroku asked as he latched onto the first half of Shippou's announcement. Inuyasha latched onto the latter, his snowy white ears swiftly turning a blush shade of red as his seethed quietly.

"Well, he asked Kagome about Naraku. I think that's the only reason he came an-"

"Since when did he save your life!" Inuyasha suddenly thundered. "And why the fuck would he, the selfish prick!"

"I don't know why Inuyasha," Kagome said as she stood up and brushed the grass from the back of her jeans. "But he did and when he asked where Naraku was I told him that I didn't know."

"You don't know you idiot!" Inuyasha shot back. "How did he think we knew anyway! If we _knew_ then Naraku would already be wearin' his ass for a hat by now!"

"Alright that's enough," Kagome snapped. "Who cares why he thought we knew where Naraku was-"

"Actually Kagome-san," Miroku interjected. "He thought **you** knew Naraku's whereabouts. He did not ask Sango and I."

"Well," Kagome said quickly. "Maybe he would have if _Inuyasha_," she glared at the fuming hanyou "hadn't rushed in like a bull in a china shop."

"What does a bull in China have to do with Sesshoumaru talkin' to you!"

"ARGH! You's so annoying!" Kagome shouted, her voice carrying across the land to echo repeatedly in the crisp afternoon air. "If you're going to sit there and harp on about _Sesshoumaru_ then Sango, Miroku, Shippou and I are going to get the jewel shard I sensed during the fight."

"Well why didn't you say so wench," Inuyasha retorted, his earlier mood returned as he waited for her to lead the way. "Which way?"

"That way," Kagome said and pointed further into the east. The group collected their scattered belongings and made their way toward the shard, all thoughts of Sesshoumaru forgotten as they pressed onward.

IV.

Kagome sat quietly, her eyes distant as she watched the flames dance inside the fire pit. She pulled her knees up to her chest, sighed deeply, then folded her arms over her knees and plunked her chin onto them. The group had come across the jewel shard she detected and the dragon that held it earlier that day. The dragon refused to give up his shard and a fight started immediately afterward.

'One dragon against five shard hunters,' Kagome huffed to herself as she continued to stare into the world beyond the fire. 'You'd think we would've had a better time of it but noooooo...'

The dragon managed quite alright, thankyouverymuch. It knocked Kirara out of the fight within the first five minutes, then proceeded to knock the three humans around like toys. Inuyasha was the only one it took seriously and even then it wasn't with the fear Inuyasha had hoped for. The dragon was finally defeated though, leaving Sango with one nasty bump on the head, Miroku with a sprained wrist and Inuyasha with a two inch hole in his shoulder beneath his collarbone.

"I just can't believe how stupid you were Kagome," Inuyasha bemoaned from his side of the campfire. Kagome rolled her eyes and readied herself for the lecture that was sure to come.

"I mean, come on," Inuyasha ranted despite Miroku's demands for quiet. "You would think that you would've learned somethin' after bein' here for so long. Why in the hell would you run up and _stab_ the dragon in the foot with an arrow? Don't you know how to shoot?"

"Yeah, but like I said," Kagome sighed patiently. "Something went haywire with my crossbow. I'll have to get it checked out the next time I go home."

"Oh, so you're weaponless until then?" Inuyasha snorted angrily. "Great, like you're not already useless."

"She is **not** useless," Shippou shouted furiously. "Kagome works hard and it wouldn't kill you to say thanks sometime!"

"Thanks for what?" Inuyasha demanded as he stiffly sat up and glared at the duo. "For damn near becoming dragon toe jam? For constantly getting in the way and needing to be rescued? Hell, even Sesshoumaru's had to rescue you!"

"Why don't you calm down Inuyasha," Sango said as she rummaged through Kagome's pack for some ninja food. "You're blowing things way out of proportion."

"Oh, so you don't mind it if she's always gettin' into trouble," Inuyasha growled at her. "That's fine with me then. Next time you save her sorry ass."

"Alright that's it!" Kagome shouted as she jumped to her feet and glared over the fire at him. "I do my best every day to try to keep up with you guys and all you do is harp on me! I'm sick of it!"

"Kagome-" Sango began and was quickly cut off by Kagome's rant.

"I jump time for three years-_three years_- and the one day that I practically beg for you to be in my time you skimp on me but have I said anything? **_Noooooooo_**, not one word. I figured something happened and that you couldn't come. Now I have to walk across Feudal Japan with _you_ listening to you gripe as if you had a right to!"

"You're always so mad!" Inuyasha shouted back, his earlier irritation now full blown anger. "You're always getting all pissy about one thing or another. Well Kikyou wouldn't have-"

"I couldn't care _less_ what **Kikyou **would have done," was her snarled remark. "That's all I hear too. 'Kikyou wouldn't have-' this. 'Kikyou would have' that. Well I'm **_not_** Kikyou! I'm _Kagome_ and I have thoughts and feelings like your precious **Kikyou**!" She sniffed, the tears that threatened to spill down her face held back by her will as she glared brokenly at him.

"Did Kikyou promise to stay with you, even though she saw you kissing another girl? No, and she wouldn't have either cause she wouldn't have caught _you_ kissing another girl! Nope, not your precious Kikyou who means more to you than life itself!"

"Kagome, it's ok," Shippou whispered as he patted her knee. "Just calm down Kagome. You shouldn't be so upset over Inuyasha being stupid. He does that all the time."

"Why can't you stop comparing me to her?" Kagome asked instead, her voice small and defeated as she stared at the ground at her feet. Her tears finally fell from her eyes to the dirt in fat plops, the air around them nearly silent in the darkness of the evening. "Our eyes, our hair, our faces, our powers, nothings' just hers or just mine. I bet you compare our love for you too, huh?" She looked up at him then, all the anger he felt dissipating like vapor at her crushed, brokenhearted gaze.

"That's why you can't love me, isn't it?" she whispered softly. "Because I come up short. No matter what I do, I can't be good enough to be me, no less be her."

"Kagome, listen-" Inuyasha stopped when she jerked away from him, her shoulders shaking from her silent sobs as Sango pulled her into a sisterly hug.

"It's ok Kagome," Sango whispered while Kagome cried on her shoulder. "Do you want to get Kirara to take you home?" She gestured to Kirara at Kagome's weak nod and in an instant the pair were off, leaving Shippou and Miroku to glare a hole into the regretful hanyou's head.

"Now you've done it," Shippou growled as he glowered from his place by the fire. "I hope you're happy with yourself because I doubt we'll see Kagome anytime soon. Thanks a lot."

----

SF: Hold up. Before you people get all pissy, don't worry. I'm still going to keep my main focus on Second Chance. I"m just trying to get to all of the fics that only have one chapter to them. The way I figure it, one chapter is boring and adding at least one more makes me feel better.


	3. The Birth of the Matchmaker

Disclaimer: You've heard it, so I'm not saying it again. It is on the first chapter for those that managed to miss it.

Chapter Two: The Birth of the Matchmaker

I. Running Away

PLOINK!

Inuyasha growled softly, his right eye twitching as he glared at the sky above. He leaned against the tree trunk and attempted to re-settle himself on his chosen branch, but winced when the noise from below continued.

PLOINK!

PLOINK!

"Shippou," he finally snapped as he glared down at the kitsune's auburn head. "Shut that shit down _now!_"

Shippou rolled his eyes but did as he requested, knowing better than to piss Inuyasha off while he was in his mood. He pocketed a couple of stones and returned his slingshot to his back pocket, then glanced up at the somber hanyou and shook his head. "I don't think it's your fault Inuyasha."

Inuyasha said nothing, his amber eyes round in surprise as he stared down at the kitsune pup. "Yeah well," he sighed after a moment's silence. "Sango and Miroku don't feel like that. They think I did this on purpose."

"Well I don't," Shippou told him as he climbed up the tree. "I don't think you knew about Kagome's feelings-"

"Of COURSE I didn't!" Inuyasha snapped back furiously. "If I had I would have...I would have...aw what the hell," Inuyasha sighed as he gazed back at the sky. "I don't have a clue as to what I would have done."

"But you didn't hurt her on purpose and that's what counts," Shippou assured him with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I mean, you didn't, right?"

"Oh hell, not you too."

"Inuyasha wait!" Shippou called out when Inuyasha looked to jump out of the tree. "Hey, I'm sure Kagome will forgive you. She always does, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Inuyasha replied with a far away look in his eyes. "Look, pup, I'll be back."

"Hey, where are you going?" Shippou demanded as Inuyasha sprinted off into the night. Shippou sighed when Inuyasha disappeared, the last of his red haori vanishing in the blackened forest.

II. Accepting Defeat

Kagome threw her arm over her eyes to shield away the sunlight, the cheerful chirping of birds and the sounds of everyday life outside her window almost a sacrilege to her depression.

"Kagome honey," her mother called as she lightly knocked on her bedroom door. "Are you alright? We haven't seen you since you came home from the well."

"Everything's fine Mom," Kagome assured her before grabbing a nearby pillow and burying her head underneath it. "Or it would be, if I weren't hurting so badly." 'Why does it have to hurt anyway?' she asked herself as she scrubbed away the last of the tear stains on her cheek. 'Why can't he just be in love with me, or be my _friend_ even, instead of constantly insulting me? I know I'll never be as perfect as Kikyou, but I'm trying. What's so bad about just being _myself_? Why can't he just love me for me?'

"OK honey," Kagome's mother said from the other side of the door. "I'm going to work and your grandfather is going to some convention on the other side of town. Do you think you'll be alright here by yourself?"

"Yes," Kagome called from underneath her pillow. "I'll be fine."

"Ok then. Have a good day dear," was her mother's farewell before her footsteps faded from the hall. Souta's heavy thuds were next, then all was quiet and the shrine closed for the remainder of the day. Kagome sat up and glanced around, her starlight eyes miserable as she glared at the four walls surrounding her. Happy pink shone around her, from the blushing walls to the comforter and the fluffy hot pink rug on the hard wood floor. She glared at it all in disgust, the baby color reminding her of the childhood that she never got to enjoy.

"I'm tired of this," she sighed suddenly as she jumped up and dove into her closet. She jerked on an old set of clothes and stormed out of the room toward an old shed on the opposite end of the shrine. She grabbed a couple of buckets of paint and, with a determination she normally saved for hunting jewel shards and searching for the bad guy, she commenced on Operation: Attack the Pink. Her ammo was effective and her attitude ruthless as she spent the rest of the day tackling this newfound challenge.

She focused on the task at hand and it was well into the heat of the day when she decided to stop for something to eat. She returned the paint bucket- now empty- back to the shed, changed clothes and gathered her savings before walking out the door and heading for the mall. Her family was back by the time she returned, and no one said anything as Kagome quietly walked back upstairs to her room and finished what she started earlier that morning.

"There," she said as she put the final pillow in it's place. "I'm finished." She stepped into her doorway and looked around, a satisfied smile on her face as she took in her room's new atmosphere. "Perfect." She sat back down on her bed, in the exact same place where she started her day, and pondered her situation with Inuyasha. While she worked on her room, her mind worked on her heart and she realized that she couldn't really blame Inuyasha for loving Kikyou.

'They had so little time together,' she said to herself while she absently fiddled with the fringe of a nearby pillow. 'If it were me, I'd be devastated too. Maybe he's just not ready to move on.' She ignored the little voice that said it was more than that, and that she deserved more than that, and glanced back to her open window.

'I can wait a little longer,' Kagome decided as she closed the window, grabbed her nightclothes and headed toward the bathroom. 'I'll stay with him, no matter what it takes. Maybe...maybe someday he'll be ready to move and when he does I'll be right there waiting."

III. Explaining My Heart

Inuyasha stood at the foot of the stairs, his arms folded and his posture strained as he stared back at the well house and sighed.

"Well," he said as he turned toward the setting sun. "I guess it's now or never." He crossed the grounds quickly, amber eyes intense as he focused on his goal and the light curtains fluttering out of a bedroom window. 'Wait a sec,' Inuyasha said to himself when he landed on the ledge beside Kagome's window. 'I thought that curtain was pink.' He stared inside and jumped back, startled to find Kagome's starlight orbs staring back at him. He adjusted himself and shook off the dreadful fright she gave him (though he'd never say as much), then turned back to her and waved his hand in her face.

"Hey we-Kagome," Inuyasha called out. "Snap out of it would ya?"

She blinked, the fog that settled over her eyes lifting when she finally noticed him. "Hi Inuyasha," she softly greeted with a wan smile. "When did you get here?"

"Feh, you'd know if you were payin' attention." He frowned, his eyes regretful when she sighed and glanced away. Her sadness washed over him, lapping at his feet in gentle waves of her disappointment and grief. "I'm...I didn't come to fight with you," he said to her incredulous glance. "I want to talk about-"

"What I said?" Kagome finished for him. Inuyasha nodded and she sighed again, then held up her hand before he could speak. "I'd like to say something first."

'Oh boy, here she goes,' Inuyasha said to himself as he prepared for one of her lectures. 'I deserve it though. I've treated her like crap for so long so-'

"Inuyasha, I understand."

"Wha?"

Kagome shook her head, her smile more relaxed. "I understand. It's gotta be tough."

"Yeah?" Inuyasha asked more than said, his tone doubtful and confused as he stared at her. "What's so tough?"

"You know, trying to get over Kikyou with me walking around." Kagome laughed weakly, her hand giving a careless flip before returning to the window sill. "I'm sorry about what I said. I'm not trying to push you though. But Inuyasha..."

She blushed and looked away from him, her eyes watching the oranges and yellows of the darkening sky. "I'll wait for you," she finally whispered. "I'll wait for you as long as it takes." She turned when Inuyasha groaned, her brow creased in confusion while Inuyasha crossed his legs and sat down below the sill. "Inuyasha," Kagome called out and leaned over the window's ledge to watch him. "What's wrong? What'd I say?"

"Nah, it ain't you," Inuyasha sighed. "But I want you to listen, and for once don't interrupt."

"Um, Ok," Kagome nodded. "Go ahead."

Inuyasha sighed again and looked up, his gaze toward the sky but his thoughts millions of miles away. How exactly could he put his feelings into words? It wasn't like he had experience in doing it or anything. 'But Kagome has to know,' he said to himself. 'She has to know and I have to say it.'

"Um, well, you know Kikyou and I weren't exactly given a chance right?" he asked and waited for Kagome's nod to continue. "I mean, between her protecting the jewel and Naraku it wasn't exactly paradise for us. I know Kikyou and I can't continue from where we were interrupted, and we can't start over either, but...when all of this is over I intend to keep my promise to her."

"But Inuyasha," Kagome gasped, the fingers of her right hand splayed across her lips in shock as she stared down at the crown of his snowy head. "You can't. You'll-"

"Go to Hell," Inuyasha finished for her. He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped and his head hung down. "Yeah, probably, but I owe her that." He sat up and stretched out his legs while his arms remained folded in their usual places. "You know what I think about when I remember Kikyou? That, even though she thought I betrayed her and she knew she was dying, she still didn't kill me. The arrow hurt and everything, don't get me wrong, but she still didn't kill me.

"She put me to _sleep_ until someone else could wake me up and finish what Naraku started. She died, Kagome, and I never knew. Not until you woke me up. I...owe her that much. Do you understand?" She didn't respond and Inuyasha turned around just as the first tear rolled down her cheek. He watched the crystalline droplet cascade down her face and regretted what he had to do. Kagome nodded though and took a deep, shuddering breath as she brushed the tear aside.

"I know you don't understand it, not all of it, and I hope you never have to. I love Kikyou, Kagome, but I love you too." He closed his eyes to her hopeful gasp and continued on. "You, Miroku, Sango and Shippou are like the family I never got to have. You guys don't care what I am, or what I'm not. We help each other and joke with each other and I honestly don't believe I'd have the others if it weren't for you." Inuyasha looked up at her and sniffed, then frowned both at her and at himself as his senses began to dull.

"None of them would have given me a chance if you weren't there, and I wouldn't have let them get near me if it weren't for you. You guys are pack and I-"

"I get it Inuyasha," Kagome suddenly interrupted. "I do. I just...are you sure?"

"About Kikyou or about you?"

"Both."

Inuyasha exhaled silently, his gaze turning toward the last of the sunlight before nodding. "I think that, if we had med in a different place, you and I could have been together. But I think that, if it weren't for Naraku, Kikyou and I would be together, and I'd be human. Naraku fucked over a lot of people but, if it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have gotten to meet you or the others."

"But why can't you stay?" Kagome asked with a muffled sob. "Why can't you just kill Naraku and let it be that?"

"Because I can't," Inuyasha answered back, his shoulders straightening as an uncomfortable ripple flushed over him. "It wouldn't be enough for me. And-" He turned around just as the amber began to fade from his irises, the honeyed hue darkening to a purplish-brown. "We both know that, if I were to stay with you, you'd spend the rest of our lives wondering if I'm with you for you, or with you for the Kikyou still _in_ you. And I'd wonder it too." Kagome turned and sat against the wall behind him, her muffled crying barely heard to his now human ears as the night fully settled on the bustling modern city. She cried for what felt like hours but Inuyasha never moved, his vigil silent as he waited for her to stand up on her own. He finally climbed into the room, pausing briefly to glance at the changed surroundings before finally falling into place beside her.

"I'm sorry Kagome," he whispered to her hunched over form. "I'm really, really sorry. If I knew how you felt earlier, I'd have said something earlier. I wouldn't have let you fall for me so hard-**OW**!"

"You _JERK_," Kagome hissed and hit him again. "Just who do you think you are anyway? You can't -stop- someone from falling in love with you! You're not invincible you know."

"Yes I am," was his confidant response and Inuyasha smiled when she giggled and leaned on his shoulder. "Are you finished?" he asked as she dried her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess," Kagome sighed forlornly. "But...where does this leave us?"

"Where I thought we always were, I guess," Inuyasha shrugged. "I'm still gonna take care of you Kagome. You're kinda like my little sister."

"That's great," Kagome groaned into a piece of tissue. "From potential girlfriend to little sister in less than an hour."

"What's a girlfriend?" Inuyasha inquired curiously. Kagome blushed and shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important. So," she said as she lifted a lock of his now dark hair. "I take it you're staying here?"

"I guess," Inuyasha shrugged again. "I mean, I've never been on this side of the well during a new moon. I'm not even sure the well will take me back."

"Me either. Oh well." Kagome stood up, brushed herself off and extended her hand to help him up. Inuyasha grimaced and knocked it aside, his near feline grace still with him as he leapt to his feet and gave her a fang-free smirk. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked when she turned toward her closet. "I mean-"

"No, Inuyasha, I'm not fine," Kagome answered honestly as she dug around her closet. "But...I guess I kinda knew this was coming. It hurts and-"

"And lets not worry about it," Inuyasha interrupted. "Let's just hand out, ok? I am stuck here, so let's make the best of it. Where's the twirp?"

"Who, Souta?" Kagome giggled and pointed toward the door. "He's downstairs. Go ahead," she waved when he went toward her door. "He's been looking for you. Hey Inuyasha, why would you want a hand out?"

"Isn't that what you do when you sit around and do nothing?"

"No!" Kagome collapsed into her desk chair, her swirling blue and white walls around her as she giggled at Inuyasha's expense. "It's not 'hand out' it's hang out."

'What-the fuck-ever," Inuyasha griped. "Damn, always so fucking testnical!"

"Wha-that's _technical_!"

Kagome laughed harder as his mumbled cursing fluttered up the stairs, the pain inside her heart lifted for a moment in time before she jumped up and followed him down.

IV. Cupid's Liaison

Inuyasha sat on the roof of the shrine, his eyes tuned to the horizon and his memories of last night swirling around his head. No matter what happened, or what kind of mood he was in, he always found his experiences in the Modern Era with Kagome's family...entertaining, to say the least. Kagome's family had to be 'certifiable', as the miko herself would put it, and it was always great fun to watch them at the dinner table. They argued, laughed and had a great time with one another, and they never failed to include Inuyasha in on their antics. Over time he'd become used to the occasional ear rub from Kagome's mom, Souta's hero worship and Kagome's grandfather's loud bellow before he slapped one of his useless sutras onto Inuyasha's forehead.

'They're great,' he said to himself as the dark sky turned a deep purple. 'They're so close...like a family should be. I never would have met them if Kagome hadn't fallen down the well.' He jumped down from the roof to the ledge underneath Kagome's window, his dark eyes softening as he watched her sleep. She cradled the indigo pillow closer to her, the tear stains from earlier in the night drying still in the early morning hours.

'I didn't mean to make her cry,' Inuyasha thought as he sat down underneath her sill. 'It's just that, I can't give her what she wants. She shouldn't have to wait on anyone. Kagome's deserves to be protected, provided for, and understood.' He pondered this new thought for a while longer, his eyes closed and his head resting against the wall behind him. With the warmth of the sun came a solution and his eyes shone with determination as they faded to burnished amber.

"I'm going to find Kagome a mate of her own."

(End Chapter)

SF: lol. And here we go people! The beginnings of the matchmaker. I'm so excited!

Inu-chan: How come NONE of your stories have me gettin the girl in the end! You started out with ME as the hero. Do you remember that?

SF: Yes, I do and believe it or not, I have a story stored somewhere where you ARE the hero...um, near the end. You're kinda a jerk in the middle.

Inu-chan: Figures...

SF: And who's to say you won't get a girl in the end? It just won't be Kagome, that's all. (Inu-chan gripes) lol. You'll be fine Inuyasha. You'll see.

Shippou practice is interrupted

Kouga and Rin meet again

Inuyasha's first elimination

Next chapter-Chapter Three: What Do Women Want Exactly-The Elimination Begins


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